I stared with intensity hoping to find the loose string in his sweater, the string that unraveled his bad intentions and desire for sanity. His mind was a chaos unknown to his own emotions. I was simply a bystander, a witness in his maze, hoping he would lie down next to me and accept himself the way I already had.

You remind me of a poem I forgot to write. I let the words coat the back of my tongue and the letters drip down my throat, accentuating an itch I couldn’t bring myself to scratch.

They fell in love across the room,
searching each others eyes for the answers to the questions that no one else cared to ask.

She longed for his arms around her like the last glass of wine that tucked her into bed every night.
He wondered what songs she listened to when she hated herself and which brought out her smile that everyone but her anticipated.

But with a unison blink they turned their heads and moved on like life had always taught them to do.

I wanted to dance my fingertips across your skin
the way the summer heat slowly twirls the smoke
of the last cigarette in the pack.

I used to wear you
like a noose around my neck,
but I was the one hanging

on every word you said.

There are better ways

to **** yourself

but for some reason 

I chose you.